Something Old, Something New
by Cresenta's Lark
Summary: "...What do YOU know about marriage? How hard it is to make it work? To make it last?" she found herself screaming at him. How dare he invade her personal life like that? Just who did he think he was anyway? But he only looked at her with a penetrating stare and said, "Don't cheat; it's that simple. You don't cheat on your wife." And she fell silent. Sam/Scam
1. Chapter 1

Hiiiii. Author's note about this…thing I wrote here is at the end. I'll shut up until then lol. :)

**Disclaimer: **Totally Spies isn't mine. Sing it with me now, "Totally Spies isn't mine!" Ugh.

Anyway, see you at the bottom.

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"Can I come in?"

A gentle knock on his door accompanied by a familiar voice that he hadn't heard in a while left him sitting up straight in his chair. Seeing it was indeed whom he thought it was, a soft, happy smile lit up his old face.

"Of course, you needn't ask," he said, still smiling as he immediately got up to greet the young woman he had been expecting. Wrapping her in a gentle hug, he held her for a moment before pulling back and glancing at her face. And immediately his smile couldn't help but falter. It couldn't help but fade at how…different she looked. And it wasn't in a good way.

There were dark circles under her green eyes signalling lack of sleep and that determined spark that had always been in them seemed extinguished. Her lips, although wearing a smile looked as if it were forced. Even her hair, the vibrant crimson shade seemed dull. In fact she looked as if she was barely managing in holding herself together.

A disapproving frown settled on his lips as he kept looking at her. It had only been two years but it looked as if she had aged several in that time. Instantly he was reminded that this was one of the crucial reasons why he had chosen to never get married. To avoid the heartache; the very same that she was enduring right at this moment.

"How are you, Sam?" he asked even though he honestly didn't need to. After all he did know why she was like this. Why she was no longer the happy, care-free, individual she had been when she'd left WOOHP. He knew exactly why and exactly whom was responsible for her misery.

"I'm good," she said, awkwardly tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear as she pushed another smile on her lips which looked just as strained as the last one had been. "|I just finished moving out this morning. Of course there still is a thing or two left behind to deal with, but it won't take long," she shrugged before waving her hand airily. "But enough of that, how is everything at WOOHP? I hear there you've made some big changes while was gone. Did you finally get around to changing the whole WOOHP-ing system into something less painful?" She let out a small laugh and gave him a little smirk. "You know how much Clover, Alex and I hated it."

Jerry said nothing as he kept looking at her with sad, empathetic eyes. It pained him to see her like this. It pained him to see the girl he saw as his own child in this state, to see her trying to hide how upset she was by changing the subject as if it didn't matter. Well it did matter. It mattered a lot. It never should have happened.

"He should be ashamed of himself."

"Who should?" Sam said, acting clueless and looking at him curiously as if she genuinely didn't know what on earth he was talking about. Something which could not be further from the truth.

"Dean."

"…"

The moment he said that her false happiness diminished and she looked down at her feet in humiliation. Silently, Jerry watched her bite her cheek to hold back the need to cry.

"I'm sorry," he whispered a moment later, reaching over to the tissue box on his desk and handing her a tissue while realizing that maybe it had been better to just ignore the issue entirely like she had been trying so hard to.

But Sam quickly shook her head as if to tell him he didn't need to apologize. "It's okay," she said, taking in a deep breath as she stopped her tears from falling. Dabbing the edges of her eyes with the tissue she bit her cheek. "It's not like I can pretend it didn't happen by ignoring it."

All of a sudden she found herself glancing at her bare ring finger. She ran her thumb over the part where her wedding ring used to be, where it should still be but wasn't anymore.

Force of habit.

Feeling a pang in her heart she looked away from it and back at Jerry. "You'd think I'd be over it by now, you know?"

"Don't be silly, Samantha," Jerry muttered. "It takes a lot of time to get over a broken relationship let along a broken marriage."

Sam nodded her head slightly but couldn't help but be disappointed by herself anyway. Despite all the sympathy her friends and family were giving her, she knew she shouldn't be taking this long to forget about a man who only married her so he could have affairs on the side. Only because he knew she'd be stupid enough to let him get away with it.

"You know I can have her fired."

Jerry's voice made her look back up at him again. "Hmm?" she mumbled quietly, watching him with lost eyes.

"Cassie," he said leaving her to let out a long sigh. "What's the point Jer,?" Another sigh left her as she looked at him pointedly, a deep frown on her lips. "She wasn't the only one."

Jerry's eyes went wide at that revelation and he looked at Sam in shock. "She…wasn't?" he croaked out slowly.

Still frowning, Sam crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head. "Nope," she glared. "Apparently there were at least seven more. "

Seeing the stunned look on her ex-boss' face Sam let out a small, bitter laugh. "Pathetic, isn't it?" she asked, before pointing to herself. "You know for being a spy, even if I wasn't on the job…" she said knowing she had quit to try and have a normal, peaceful, harmonious marriage (oh the irony). "You'd think I should have caught on ages ago." She closed her eyes tightly looking wretched. "I guess I was too busy being blind and thinking everything was okay," a small huff escaped her. "So much for being a super spy."

"Everyone wants to be able to trust someone Sam," Jerry whispered making her open her eyes again. He gave her an understanding smile. "Spy or not, you did nothing wrong by thinking it was okay to believe in your husband, to let your guard down around him."

Sam returned his kind smile with a bitter one of her own. "Except that I did do something wrong by doing just that."

Not wanting her to keep beating herself up like this as it wasn't healthy, Jerry opened his mouth to tell her that this, none of this was her fault. But Sam cut him off first.

"You know the first woman he cheated on me with was the assistant wedding planner?" She put her finger on her chin in thought as her eyes narrowed. "Which means… he might have been sleeping with her while we were actually in the process of getting married. What a joke."

"It's unacceptable," Jerry muttered.

She nodded her head rigorously at that. "Yea, almost as unacceptable as my thinking he was the "one woman" type," she said, making quotations in the air for emphasis before glaring again and speaking in a tone filled with nothing but self loathing. "I mean I should have seen the hints. Right when I met him he made it obvious how much he loved female attention, the more the better," immediately her mind went back to what he'd said the very first time she had encountered him.

"_Ladies please, there is plenty of Dean to go around."_

Words she should have remembered back when she was saying her I Do's instead of now when he had already hurt her.

He was a player, he had always been a womanizer but she had been too blinded by her attraction to him to notice it when it would have done her some good. And she paid the price for her ignorance. She paid it big time.

"You know I can fire him."

Her ears perking up at Jerry's latest suggestion, Sam was caught off guard. "What? No, no," she said quickly, putting up her hands as if to tell him to stop. "Really, I don't want you to pick sides like that Jer. He's as much an agent of WOOHP as I am. It wouldn't be professional to fire him for something totally unrelated to his job."

But Jerry just shook his head stubbornly. "That's debateable actually. You, Clover, and Alex have done more for WOOHP than any other agent of your time. And there is no need for me to "pick sides" in this," he said, emphasizing those words. "It's common sense whom I should be supporting here."

He kept looking at her as he spoke, letting her know where his loyalties lay. "He cheated on you, not vice versa. All of WOOHP knows that and I'm sure no one thinks that what he did was okay."

"Except for Cassie and any other agent he might have fooled around with," Sam huffed before saying, "That's not why I'm here though," she gave Jerry a pointed glance. "Getting him fired I mean."

"But wouldn't it make things easier on you if he was fired?" Jerry asked knowing the knowledge that Dean was in the same building would probably just aggravate her and for good reason. "Wouldn't it help you be more comfortable and move on with your life?"

Raising an eyebrow, Sam shook her head no. "Actually, I think it would send the wrong message. It's like saying I can't handle being around him without feeling something."

"I see," Jerry nodded.

"I honestly just want…" Sam started slowly before breaking off with a sigh as she struggled to come up with the right words. A moment later she tried again. " I just want to," her face grew determined. "I _need_ to get back to being who I was before I got into that relationship with…" she paused again, this time looking as if she had swallowed a lemon whole before she spit out his name. "Dean." She sighed. "I want to forget it all and be myself again. Me, Sam, Sam Simpson; super spy."

Seeing a glimmer of the willpower he was afraid she had permanently lost, Jerry couldn't help but smile. Sam's inner strength, her will, was one of the key reasons why he had picked her to be a spy in the first place.

Finding him silent, Sam bit her lip wondering if she'd overstepped. What if two years off was too long of a time off and WOOHP didn't want her back? After all she HAD quit and had indicated that she never wanted to return.

"You know that's why I'm here, right Jerry?" She found herself voicing her thoughts. "Unless I'm not welcome-"

"Nonsense," Jerry snapped, cutting her off and sounding outraged. How could she even think such a thing? "You'll always be welcome at WOOHP," he said firmly before smiling again. "Besides, I was never happy with the idea of you quitting anyway."

A small, genuine smile lit up Sam's face. "So… I can come back?" she asked nervously.

"Absolutely."

Her smile grew wider as she watched him with thankful eyes. "Thanks Jer. Thanks a lot."

"If WOOHP can help you move on and heal then I'd be more than happy to have you with us," Jerry said before looking at her seriously. "Just make sure you're okay with Dean still being a part of this agency because if you're not," he stopped and pointed at the phone sitting on the corner his desk. "One call is all it's going to take." A small smirk upturned the corner of his lip. "You're allowed to play favourites when you're the boss, you know. It's a perk of the job."

Sam couldn't help but laugh at his words. "Thanks Jerry, you're the best but I'm sure. Like I said, I just want to go back my old life, life before I got married and the "before Sam" wouldn't care about Dean working in the same agency."

Watching Jerry nod, she couldn't help but be glad that everything about her former husband was done and dealt with and she was free to move onto more important matters.

"So…" she started, taking a step closer and smiling wider. "Now that that's settled, catch me up. What changes have been made to WOOHP in my absence? I know Clover and Alex are wondering if they should come back to WOOHP now that I'm back."

She couldn't conceal the excitement she felt at that idea; the thought of them all working together again just like before. "That would be awesome wouldn't it?" she said, her eyes twinkling with happiness and nostalgia. "Just like old times. I think that's just what I need right now, everything to be _just_ like it was when I left-"

"You owe me big time for this Jerry," a smooth, masculine voice suddenly said from behind her. "Do you have _any_ idea how many hours it took me to get through these files last night?"

Sam's eyes widened in surprise. That voice….she knew that voice. She knew it by heart.

"_But….it couldn't be…" _Sam thought, biting her lip in confusion. Why would _he _be here?

Wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her or if she really had been away from WOOHP too long to remember anything clearly, Sam turned around to solve the mystery. But the moment she did her eyes widened even more when she found that it wasn't anyone else and she had been right. It was him.

Her eyes quickly skimmed over his familiar face and features; dark chestnut hair in the same style where a few bangs drifted over the right side of his forehead, tanned skin, high cheekbones, full lips, a muscular frame that towered at 6' 3", and deep, effervescent sea foam eyes.

She sucked in a breath as she kept staring at him. There was no doubt, it was him. It couldn't be anyone else.

In the back of her mind she couldn't help but notice that while she now looked like crap, he looked incredible. It had been two years since she'd last seen him but he looked just the same if not even more handsome, poised, elegant and confident. Somewhere she felt a slight pang of jealousy inside her at being so unkempt in comparison before she started to wonder if he was here to cause chaos just like before when she suddenly noticed something.

Scam…he was wearing a WOOHP employee suit. Black suit jacket, white shirt, black tie; just like he had been the very first time she had met him, laid eyes on him all those years ago before they officially became enemies.

Curious, she couldn't help but wonder why he was wearing it. Was he planning on retrying his "Mac Smit" plot? After a second of thought she gave up on that idea. No, Scam would never do that. He was much too smart and diligent to try the same plan over again especially when it had failed. Which meant there had to be another reason why he was dressed like this and was here at this time.

As she was still racking her brains to try and figure it out, suddenly Sam realized that Jerry had been silent ever since Scam's entrance. _"That makes no sense," _she thought to herself, furrowing her eyebrows together. Why wasn't Jerry panicking in the background? Why wasn't he rushing and calling security, calling guards to put Scam back in his cell before he attacked again? Unless…

Something else was going on here and Jerry knew what that was.

Turning to Jerry, she fixed him with a questioning stare. Seeing it, Jerry cleared his throat and started explaining. "…One of the changes we made while you were gone."

He paused, almost holding his breath as if bracing himself for how she might react to his news, making her more curious before he finally spit it out. "Sam, I'd like to introduce you to our new second in command…Tim Scam."

Whipping back around she glanced at Scam with eyes ready to pop out of their sockets before snapping her head back to Jerry. "But how is this…" she trailed off, her mind in knots as she struggled to understand the events that could have possibly led to this colossal change. "When did-"

"About a week after you left, Tim and I got to talking and he told me that he wanted to turn his life around."

"A week after I left…" Sam whispered quietly, more to herself than anyone else.

"Yes," Jerry said, nodding. "And at first I doubted his intentions, but before I knew it he was working alongside me and helping make this agency better than it ever was. I know it may be hard to believe but Tim's made some incredible contributions to WOOHP." Jerry smiled at Scam, pleased beyond words at their renewed partnership before speaking to Sam again, continuing in filling her in about everything Scam had done for the agency during her time away.

"Did I tell you we pay our employees now? That was one of his ideas that really took off. And you were talking about the WOOHPing system earlier, well Tim's been helping me devise a better method for getting agents here instead of yanking them out of their personal lives. It's in the works. His biggest input though, is completely reworking the security mainframe, we haven't had a single breakout ever since…"

But Sam wasn't even listening to anything that was leaving Jerry's mouth any longer. She stood there frozen in her place as her mind remained stuck on the very first thing he'd told her about Scam.

A week after she left, one week after. August 13th, the day she married Dean _that_ was the day he'd chosen to become good, to become WOOHP's ally, turn his life around. When she was no longer there, no longer around…no longer part of it.

And here she'd thought she could never hate anyone more than she hated Dean Emerson.

Well, she thought as she gave him a glare, her anger fuming inside her like an active volcano just ready to erupt.

She had been wrong.

* * *

I wrote this one a whim. Got bored on a chilly, Canadian evening and just went with the mood lol. I dunno where exactly this is going or if it's going anywhere but decided to post this to get your reactions.

Like it? Would you like to _**see more? **_Anything you're wondering? I'd love to hear from you guys before I decide if I should continue this or scrap it entirely. So if you happen across this little chapter, _**please let me know **_what you thought. Thanks!

Love,

Cresenta's Lark :D

**PS: **Dean says the line Sam remembers back in his introductory episode _"Evil Promotion Much?" Part 1 _(Season 3 I believe). It's taken straight from the episode where Clover, Alex and Sam are fighting over him.


	2. Chapter 2

HI GUYS! _:D :D :D_

Look! It's an actual update this time!_  
_

I promised I'd post something really fast for you guys to read a few days ago. I was working on _Remember Me ? _(and still am) BUT I got inspired to write this while I got stuck on RM so I'm posting this now to fulfill my promise! :)

I hope you guys like it. It's not that long but it's a SUPER **important** chapter. :P I almost forgot about this fic I started but randomly remembered it last night so without further ado…

**Disclaimer: **TS isn't mine. *cries miserably in a corner at all the wasted Sam/Scam potential*

* * *

She kept staring at him with that same glare as he stood there in front of her, so close to her that she could reach out and touch him. He was within arms reach, and it wasn't the first time that had ever happened.

Her mind flashed back to every time she had encountered him before this moment, all those missions, in every mission, every time he had been within reach but there had been one key difference.

A wall had always been between them, a wall that had been there because of HIM, because of his choice to be an enemy. And now he had done it again, he'd chosen to turn his life around the moment she'd left.

Her glare deepened. He really didn't care for her at all did he?

While she continued to look at him with hateful eyes, Scam just stood there as still as a statue as he stared back at her with his lips slightly parted in what could only be described as shock.

For a long moment he looked right into her emerald gaze which had been fixed on him ever since he'd entered Jerry's office but then he averted it, looking away. Inside his chest he could feel how his heart had skipped a beat just now…but that was to be expected, wasn't it?

He pressed his lips together as a memory came back to him. August 6th, 2 years ago. He had been in his prison cell then when he heard the news. He'd always wondered what it would feel like to be hit by lightening…well he had gotten his answer right then. And he'd never forget it.

Clearing his throat to steer his thoughts, he looked back up at her this time with neutral eyes as he studied her. She looked different than he remembered her. She looked more mature, less innocent and there was something else there which he hadn't seen before.

There was pain in her eyes. His eyes glanced at her left hand and when he didn't see a wedding ring there he knew the rumours were true and he understood perfectly why she was in so much pain that it was showing. It was clear as day, a mark of suffering and he could easily tell with just one glance just how much Dean Emerson had hurt her. It almost looked as if he'd hurt her more than-

"Is anyone else going to say something or will I continue to blabber on unheard?" Jerry's voice forced both Sam and Scam to turn back to him.

Laughing, Jerry shook his head. "I'm only joking, of course you need time to process everything with all the changes and everything that's happened." His smile widened. "But we can talk about all that later."

Pausing, he held his hand towards Tim. "I'll take those files you kindly read for me now, if I may?" Nodding, Scam handed them to him.

Tucking them under his arm, Jerry stood up from where he had been leaning on his desk. "Well, I need to take care of these right away," he said, pointing to the files. "But I'll be back later…" he trailed off for a second before looking at Scam.

"Tim, while I'm gone would you mind showing Sam around? Just giving her a basic rundown of the changes at WOOHP?" He smiled again. "And while you're doing that, you can catch up. I trust you both have lots to say and work through now that you'll be working side by side."

A small laugh left him again. "You're going to want to put the past in the past if you aim to move on," he said, speaking of their past as enemies but never noticing the look of anxiety that crossed both their features as soon as he said that.

"I'll be off then," Jerry said with a final smile as he moved to go. He was almost out the door when he stopped and turned back to Sam.

Smiling at her, he pointed at Scam for a second. "Be patient with him. He's rough around the edges and it takes him forever to let people in…but he has a heart of gold. Give it enough time and he won't be able to hide that from you, I promise."

With that he stepped out of the glass doors of his office to go on his errand and get on with his busy day. As soon as the doors closed, as expected, Scam could feel Sam's eyes focused entirely onto him.

And for a moment he stood there cursing Jerry in his head. The old man was his friend and he cared for him dearly but he always did have a knack for putting him in uncomfortable, difficult situations.

Taking a minute to compose himself he decided it was just best to do what Jerry had asked him to. Show Sam around WOOHP and get her up to speed on all the changes that had occurred in her absence.

"_You're going to want to put the past in the past if you aim to move on,"_ Jerry's words resonated in his memory for a second but he brushed them off before finally breaking the silence. "I think it would be best to start with a tour-"

"Do you really think I'm some outsider that needs YOU of all people to give me her a tour of WOOHP?!" Sam's voice, harsh and loud cut him off.

Looking up at her, he found her posture to be defensive and she was glaring at him again. "I worked at WOOHP ever since I was a teenager, I know this place like the back of my hand and I can guarantee that I know it a lot better than a guy who only came back two years ago after choosing to betray this very agency!"

Hearing her words, Scam bit his cheek in an effort to stay calm. She had just taken a jab at him, a very big jab at him and he had no idea why. Sure she didn't like him, they had bad blood between them but her lashing out at him like this seemed really, really unfair.

He was about to say something in response when he remembered why she was here and what she had gone through. Did he really want to add more fuel to the fire? Right now? He decided against it and chose to stick to the subject at hand.

"…The physical layout of WOOHP has seen many, significant changes in your two-year absence. If you want to work here properly, it'll be a lot easier if you get to know what those changes are."

Raising his eyebrow, he gave her a cool glance. "As a veteran of this agency as you put it, it would be no less than embarrassing to have to be given directions by an intern if you fail to find a key location in this building just because you didn't want your former enemy to tell you about it when he was trying to."

Clamping her mouth shut, Sam shot him an annoyed glance but nodded her head letting him know she wouldn't object to a tour any longer. Watching him turn to the doors to step through them and start the tour, Sam couldn't help but stare at him in wonderment. He had just taken her insult (and it had meant to be an insult in every sense) in such a calm, dignified, mature manner.

The Tim Scam she knew, the one she remembered would have barked an insult right back at her in a heartbeat. This was proof of what Jerry said wasn't it? That he had changed, turned his life around. But…was he no longer the same man at all? The same man that she-

Suddenly she found herself wondering why he had changed. What had been his reason? A guy like Scam choosing to turn his life around out of no where? Without no reason? That didn't make any sense. There had to be a reason.

Or had his reason simply been that she was no longer at WOOHP anymore? Shaking her head she dismissed that thought now because as tempted as she had been to believe that, it didn't add up.

His enmity had been with WOOHP and stemmed with Jerry. His rift with her and her friends had only been there because they were on the opposite side. He didn't see her or any of them as his arch enemies, just mere roadblocks to taking WOOHP down as he'd wanted to in the past. So her leaving WOOHP and his life, would not have made him change just because the source of hatred was gone…there was something else.

There had to be something else and she was just dying to find out what it was.

She kept staring at him in an effort to read him and find out. She was so caught up in that in fact, that she never realized when he turned around and was saying something to her. But that was only until she heard him say her soon to be ex-husband's name.

"I'm sorry by the way, that Dean left you."

Hearing those words, Sam felt as if she'd been slapped in the face. Immediately, her nostrils flared and she looked up at him with angry, hurt eyes. "Excuse me?!"

He blinked at the tone of her voice before repeating his words slowly. "I'm…sorry he left you," he whispered carefully. He didn't want to make her feel bad, he just didn't want to seem like a jerk (a reputation he knew he had of being in the past when she had known him) and not say anything when it was obvious that he knew what she was going though.

He didn't think that was going to make things any easier between former foes but the look on Sam's face told him that maybe, just maybe he should have left well enough alone and shouldn't have said anything at all.

A moment later he was proven right when she started yelling at him again, this time angrier than ever.

Unable to help herself when it came to her freshly destroyed marriage for which she could not be blamed for in any way, Sam responded like a wounded snake immediately lashing out at the man before her.

"I'm sorry, did Jerry tell you to pry into my personal matter? I thought I heard him tell you to catch me up about WOOHP, WOOHP and that's it!" she snapped. "How _dare_ you talk about my marriage?"

Scam's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something to stop her rant but she held up her hand and cut him off.

"First of all, DEAN," she spit out, "Didn't leave me. -I- am divorcing HIM. It's MY decision not his-"

"Sam-"

She cut him off again beyond livid at this point. How dare he have the gall to invade her personal life like that? Just who did he think he was anyway?

"And before you go on lecturing me about how short my marriage was, let me ask you," she glared. "What do YOU know about marriage? How hard it is to make it work? To make it last?" She found herself screaming at him.

How much of a "guy" was he to blame her for her collapsed marriage? To accuse the woman in the relationship and say that Dean had left her?

But when he finally got to speak she realized that, that wasn't it at all. He remained calm and only looked at her with a penetrating stare and said, "Don't cheat; it's that simple. You don't cheat on your wife."

And she fell silent. Looking down at her feet she tried to calm herself down. She almost felt idiotic for losing control like that and attacking him for assuming he was blaming her when he wasn't.

Taking in a deep breath she frowned, disgusted with herself. Why was she so on edge nowadays anyways? It bothered her. She was always ready to rip people's heads off as soon as they talked about her marriage no matter whom it was. It was like in some part of her despite knowing better she blamed herself for how things ended up being between Dean and her.

Even if he had been the adulterous cheater and the one who had left her no choice but to file for divorce. And now she had lashed out on Scam who had just been trying to be civil, to be kind to her now that they would be working together.

"_It isn't right," _Sam thought to herself knowing that it wasn't. She had come here to get a fresh start and she had started things right off the bat by making her failed marriage a big part of what was supposed to be the new direction her life was headed into. She had to start over. She had to…she had to apologize to Tim Scam.

Taking in a deep breath, Sam nodded her head to herself about to do just that when he spoke again suddenly.

"But you're right, I don't know anything about marriage. Why would I?" he said nonchalantly, confusing her as to where he was going with this.

But that was only until he lifted his left hand from where it had been hanging at his side and placed it in his pocket slowly enough so that she could see what was there on the second-last finger of his hand.

A ring.

A simple, platinum band.

Sam's eyes widened and her face lost all its color. It was…it could only be…a wedding band.

Scam…he was married.

She felt as if the world had slipped out from under her feet and lightening had struck her right on the spot.

The wall that had always been between them was back…

This time for real.

* * *

Meanest cliff-hanger ever? Or is it just a runner up?

I wonder if anyone saw this coming well, besides me lol.

Anyway! For now I have decided I'll probably continue on writing this because I have some ideas for it. :D

Let me know what **you think **of this chapter and if I should continue it though! I'm still making up my mind. Plus, I'm like _**dyinggggggg**_ to know your reactions to that bomb Scam just dropped on our dear Sammie. XD

_**Review for me **_please? Thank you!

*evil cackle* I mean… *sincere smile*

Love,

Cresenta's Lark


	3. Chapter 3

Dammit! :(

I wanted to have this up exactly one month after my last update but I failed. Ah well, I hope you still enjoy this! *please don't hate meeeeeeeeee!*

**Disclaimer: **Totally Spies doesn't belong to me. But wouldn't that be a wonderful Christmas gift if they let me have it? :P

* * *

As they stood there in total silence Scam could literally feel Sam's stare on his left hand. And he could tell she had seen what he had meant to show her. Just as he'd expected, her rant about him not knowing squat about marriage and being married had come to a immediate halt when she'd seen his ring.

In fact the way she was looking right now, eyes peeled wide in shock and almost horror that he could be committed to someone, that someone would choose to spend their life with him… it made him feel a strange sense of peace inside. A calmness like he'd never felt before.

But at the same time, for the first time he felt the weight of the ring on his finger and wondered if maybe he'd made a mistake just now. And he asked himself, did he really want to do this? Go this route? A route he'd never planned on taking?

Scam pressed his lips together as he remained deep in thought, his ring only feeling heavier and heavier on his finger with every second that passed by. Did he fully understand just how difficult and complicated things would get between them if he went on like this? If he did, then just like everyone else at WOOHP, Sam also, _Samantha _too would-

Scam's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden ringing of his wallet communicator. Dismissing his thoughts for the moment he answered the call.

While he was busy with the person on the other end, Sam slowly, cautiously moved her eyes up to Scam's face finding herself wishing she had seen a wedding band on some other man's hand and had mistaken him for Tim Scam for some reason. But her heart sank in her chest when she realized she had made no such mistake and the ring was indeed on Scam's finger. Which meant that Tim Scam was a married, was a taken man.

Tim…

_Her _Tim.

"I'll be right there," she heard him say before closing his communicator. He glanced at her for a second, his lips set in a small line as if he was wanted to say something. He stayed that way for several more before letting out a quiet "tour will have to wait" before turning on his heel and leaving her there all alone in Jerry's office.

And instantly Sam felt a strong sense of sadness grip as she oddly felt betrayed again. Betrayed just like she had felt when she had caught Dean in bed with another woman only this hurt even worse than that…and she didn't know why.

Why did finding out that her former flame (if he could be called that) was married hurt her more than finding out that her husband had cheated on her? Was it more because deep down she had noted Dean's playboy nature and ignored it so she'd seen the betrayal coming on some level? Or because she had never once expected for Tim Scam to ever belong to anyone? The way she was feeling right now, she grimly suspected that it was the latter.

Letting out a long sigh, a frown formed on Sam's face as she remained deep in thought. When she'd first found Tim Scam here at WOOHP upon her return, her reaction had been surprise. That surprise had quickly turned to pure, unhampered rage when she'd been told Scam had turned his life around and was now a "good man". And it wasn't because she didn't trust him, thought he was just pretending, or didn't believe Jerry should have made him second in command at the agency like one may think about their ex-enemy, it was because of something else.

It was because of when he'd chosen to do this, become a friend, an ally. After she was married, in fact according to Jerry, he had made this decision precisely on the exact day she said "I do" to Dean. And it bothered her, bothered her to no end. Why did he have to wait until then? Until it was…it was…

She let out another heavy sigh as her frown grew deeper.

Until it was too late.

Why couldn't he have changed sooner, while she was still in the picture? While she was still at WOOHP? Did he not know that she would have liked to seen him give up crime? That that was the sole reason she had ever given up on him?

Her mind flashed back to the moment when she'd told him so many years ago that "they were so over" and she became further frustrated. Hadn't she made it clear that she had moved on because he was a foe and not a friend? How then did he not get that? No he was much too smart not to understand.

Which meant only one thing. Scam didn't and never had, had any feelings for her. Ever. Even though she'd outright told him she did, he never once reciprocated them. If he had cared, he'd have changed in front of her. He'd have changed _for _her.

But no.

Feeling further worthless and unwanted Sam realized that he'd never thought she was worth the effort, that she was a good enough reward to become a better man for. She then found herself thinking of her crush on Scam and started to understand why he might not have seen her as much of a big deal. After all she'd been 18 years old then, a teenager, and she doubted she was the only girl to be smitten by him in his brief stint at the WOOHP's leader. After all WOOHP was filled with young girls and more than just her would have had to have noticed just how smart, and charismatic, and handsome their new boss was.

So why then, why EVER then, would he notice one girl out of all of the rest? It wasn't like she'd done anything to make him hers or inspire him to change. No she'd just gained a crush and then harbored secret remains of that crush ever since all the while pretending to hate his guts. She'd never acted on it again and she'd never made it obvious to him that she still wanted him on the condition that he'd give up his life of crime.

She had just ... moved on. Moved on to what she had thought were greener pastures. To Dean Emerson.

So no she couldn't blame him for not wanting her enough to turn his life around for her but that didn't mean she couldn't be annoyed with him for this. Because she was annoyed, annoyed and frustrated. Because even though he clearly didn't return her feelings, over the years that she had been his enemy there had been so many moments and instances where it just felt like he paid more attention to her than the others.

That he talked to her more, looked at her more, teased her more…touched her more.

Sealing her eyes she forced herself to let those memories go. Because they weren't real. It probably only had felt that way because had had a crush on him. It was her perspective that had made it seem like he'd done all those things when in fact he probably was the same with Clover and Alex and she hadn't noticed.

But as she told herself to believe that, the very thought of him paying attention to, noticing other girls made her feel ill. Made her feel jealous and cheated. As if he had no right to do so, as if he belonged to her and they actually had a relationship despite it being nothing more than a one-sided crush.

And because of that, despite her knowing better a big part of her blamed him and his not having changed sooner for her marrying Dean. Because hadn't Tim Scam been her ideal man in every sense except for the matter of his being a criminal? He had been.

And she didn't doubt it for a second that if he had been a good man that she wouldn't have acted on her feelings instead of marry someone else. That she would have been with him and Dean would have never happened.

…

No it wasn't like she had never loved Dean or anything like that, she had meant her wedding vows and had wanted to have a life with him before he messed it all up but Scam…he just felt like the one that got away.

And now he would always be that man. Always and forever. Because now even though she was no longer married…Scam was.

_"Don't cheat; it's that simple. You don't cheat on your wife." _

And it was clear he took the commitment seriously. As seriously as, she thought feeling even more bitter, as she'd always wanted Dean to take their marriage. For some man to be loyal to her but never had been.

It could have been Scam her mind nagged to her. He could have been hers. Her husband, her happily ever after. Could of, if he'd just felt the same way that she did. If he'd just turned his life around for her. Which again, he did not.

But he had for someone as that ring on his finger made obvious. That there was some woman out there that he had found worthy enough of his time and effort. Of his love. And even though Sam did not know who she was, not even her name or what she looked like, she already knew one thing about that woman.

And that was that she hated her. Hated her with every fibre of her being. Just like she hated her soon to be ex-husband Dean.

Hearing her phone make a "text" sound notification in her pocket, Sam pulled out the phone and glared when she saw that it was a text from none other than Dean saying that he wanted to meet her.

"Speak of the devil," she mumbled, pissed and in no mood to deal with him. Texting him back a simple "why" in response to why he wanted to see her and hoping that would be enough to make him change his mind, Sam let out a groan at his next message:

_**SOMETHING I NEED TO SAY TO YOU.**  
_

Sam hesitated for a moment not wanting to see his face but she knew she had to deal with him and couldn't just ignore him. She was still waiting on him to sign the annulment papers she'd sent him. But at least they were thankfully annulment papers due to WOOHP pulling some strings for her and not divorce papers which would take some time to process. And she was grateful for that because she honestly could not stand to be married to him any longer. As soon as he signed the papers, she'd be free of him.

So for that reason alone, just to ask him why he hadn't signed yet and to make him do that, she would see him.

With that thought in mind Sam quickly told him that she was at WOOHP and in Jerry's office so he could meet her there before putting her phone away and tapping her foot impatiently to get this over with.

Even though she didn't want to see him or anyone to be honest. Right now she just wanted to dig a hole and bury herself in it. Feeling wretched she closed her eyes for a few moments to collect herself until she heard the door open letting her know that Dean had arrived.

And Sam opened her eyes and looked up to face the brown haired, green eyed male that wasn't Tim Scam and immediately frowned. Dean was just standing there actually daring to smile at her and she felt her hands itch with the need to slap it off his face. That need only grew when he smiled wider and asked her how she was.

"How do you think?" Sam barked back immediately and Dean sighed realizing it had been a stupid question so he should have expected that kind of answer. It was clear Sam was still very hostile to say the least.

"Well I'm guessing you're planning to return to WOOHP full time? Or are you just here to pay Jerry a visit?" he said making small talk, hoping that talking about something different may help calm her down.

Unfortunately for him, it did no such thing.

"My plans or what I'm going to be doing with my life are NO longer your concern," he heard her say icily, And when he looked at her, he found her posture defensive and enraged.

Letting out a sigh at being shot down yet again, Dean shook his head. "Come on Sam, you don't have to be like this."

And at that Sam felt her nostrils flare. This was exactly what pissed her off about him. His being so blasé. It was like he thought that what he did was okay and she was overreacting. Well he was about to get an earful.

"How am I supposed to be to you? Friendly?," she snarled glaring daggers at him. "I guess I should be rolling out the red carpet that you took time off from fucking Cassie long enough to pay me an unwanted visit." Her glare turned into a smirk. "Or are you done with Cassie and are screwing someone else now? Is that why you came here? To update me on your newest slut?"

"I actually did come here to talk about-"

"My replacement?" Sam cut him off. "I'm not interested in hearing about her," she said and felt her temper flare again when Dean laughed. He actually stood there and laughed for a while before continuing their strained conversation.

"She's not a replacement for you Sam. She's not my wife and I don't ever plan to make her that. It's not serious between us you know," he said firmly. "It's just-

"Sex!" Sam snapped knowing that was exactly what he was going to say. And she'd be upset for Cassie being a woman like her and all but that bitch deserved it. Then again knowing the type of woman she was, she probably didn't even care.

"Does she even know she's not the only one you're sleeping with?" Sam asked and wasn't shocked when Dean shook his head yes telling her that he and Cassie had an "open" relationship. That Cassie knew he liked other female attention and didn't care.

Sam let out a huff of disgust only to freeze in her place when she heard him say something she didn't like.

"She's not like you Sam."

Interpreting that comment as a jab at her, Sam looked him square in the eye and glared. "And what is THAT supposed to mean?!

Dean took in a deep breath knowing that this was it. They were finally getting to the reason why he was here to see her. Cautiously, he said what he had to. "Do you really want to punish me for…for-"

"Your infidelity? Betrayal?" Sam finished and Dean had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. That was exactly what he meant when he had said that Sam wasn't like Cassie. She was way more possessive and dramatic.

"I apologized to you," he said simply leaving her huffing again.

"Oh and that's supposed to make me feel better?!" she said before shaking her head in disbelief at his ego and attitude. Why had she agreed to talk to him anyway?

Seeing him about to open his mouth again, Sam held up her hand to stop him. "Save your breath, I don't want to hear it."

Dean closed him mouth for a second before saying her name again. "Sam-"

"What did I just say?"

Ignoring Sam who was quickly becoming annoying, Dean quickly told her that he didn't come here to make her mad or fight with her. That he came here just because he wanted to be sure that she was sure.

"About what?" Sam snapped.

"The annulment."

Sam almost snorted at that. "Why wouldn't I be sure?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him pointedly because she was just dying to know why he'd say a thing like that.

Dean just sighed again. "I just don't want you to regret it later," he said, actually daring to sound like he cared about her. And Sam felt like she could punch him in the face right this second. Seriously, how egotistical and full of himself was he?

"As if I'd regret no longer being married to a cheater like you," she said and Dean looked as if he had been slapped in the face. And it didn't take him long to try and change her mind.

"Save for that, we had a happy marriage Samantha and you know it."

The way he said those words it made it obvious to her that he thought she should just sweep his affairs under a rug and go back to him. He didn't get it, did he? How she felt when she found out he was kissing other women with the same mouth he was kidding her with? Sleeping with others while he slept with her? She felt sullied and cheapened and desecrated because of him.

But he didn't get it. Not at all. The only way he would probably get how she felt would be if she had cheated on him. She was pretty sure he wouldn't be so nonchalant then.

But knowing Dean as she knew him now, if she said that to him he would probably tell her that he would have been cool with her sleeping with other men and so she should be the same towards him and his lady friends instead of want to end their marriage.

Furious she found herself screaming again. "No Dean we didn't have a MARRIAGE! A marriage is when two people are committed to one another for LIFE! I was committed, you were not! EVER! Don't insult marriage by calling the lie that we lived THAT!"

No longer carrying to keep her calm because Sam simply wasn't hearing him, Dean let out a scoff. "So that's it then?!" he shouted right back. "My sleeping with someone else once in a while erases everything else? My spending two hours of my day with another woman trumps all the hours I spent with you?!"

Sam could now feel herself shaking from the amount of anger she was feeling right now. And if it wasn't for the reason that she never wanted to touch him ever again, she would have taken the few steps she needed to reach him and would have gladly backhanded him across the face.

Was he seriously standing here in front her justifying his affairs?! And here she'd thought maybe he'd be begging her for her forgiveness if not nothing else. But no, he wasn't sorry. He wasn't regretting his mistakes at all.

And this just made her decision to end their marriage even more valid.

"If this is the garbage you want to say to me…I don't want to hear it!" she glowered. "Just sign the papers Dean and go spend twenty-four ENTIRE hours with your slut no wait my bad, SLUTS! See if I care anymore!"

"FINE!" Dean said and took out the papers from his pocket all the while mumbling to himself. "I told you I was sorry. What else do you want me to do?!"

"Yea you sure sounded sorry just now suggesting I should just sweep your affairs under a rug and stay married to you," Sam muttered right back.

"I didn't have the affairs alone," Dean said nearly crumpling up the document in his hand. "Those women, Cassie knew that I was married and still came onto me. I didn't lie to them that I wasn't!"

"No you just lied to ME that you loved me!" Sam responded leaving Dean to fall silent. He stayed quiet for a moment and then another before whispering quietly, "I still love you."

Sam's eyes widened and she immediately fell silent not having had seen that coming.

Knowing that he had her attention now, Dean continued on bravely. "Which is why I want you to calm down and re-think this. Sam," he said coming over and holding her by her shoulders. "I still want you to be my wife. We can get past this," he said, pulling her even closer and soon Sam could feel his breath lingering over her lips.

Sensing that he was going to kiss her, Sam jerked her body away from his reach and shot him an acidic glare.

She wasn't going to buy this bullshit or fall for his trap this time. Not anymore. It was over.

"If by us getting past this you mean ME getting past your unfaithfulness and still playing your innocent, naive wifey while you go sleep with more women and then come home and sleep with me then you're OUT OF YOUR MIND!"

Dean face fell at her words. "Fine, have it your way," he shrugged before giving her a serious look. "But I guess you're not going to be marrying anyone ever again then."

Confused at what he meant by that, Sam just gave him a sickeningly sweet and fake smile. "Because I'm so in love with you that I could never move on right?" She mocked.

"No," Dean said before finally saying what he had been avoiding to say to her. But Sam needed to hear this because she needed a dose of reality. "Because your standards are too high for marriage."

The second he said that, Sam felt more insulted than she'd ever felt in her whole, entire life. Did he seriously just SAY that to her?!

"So my wanting loyalty is too much of a demand?!" Sam screamed, unable to stop her outburst. "I'm pretty sure that was part of our wedding vows DEAN!"

"I know," Dean said tiredly before giving her a little smirk. And somehow just seeing it Sam knew she wasn't going to like what he was going to say. When he finally said the words, she knew she was right. "But I also know that if given the chance, there isn't a man out there that wouldn't cheat. So if you're going to go looking for that, you'll be very disappointed."

Sam bit her cheek as hard as she could to stop herself from saying anything more to him. For a second she had thought, she had actually thought he might have some remorse. Clearly not.

"You're truly sick if that is how you see marriage," she finally said before telling him to just sign the papers.

"Not sick, just realistic," Dean said, not even pretending to take his words back as he signed the papers she wanted him to and handed them to her but not before adding that sooner or later she would realize what he was saying was true and maybe then she would miss their marriage where save for the affairs, he treated her well.

Nearly ripping the papers out of his hands, Sam just gave him another glare. "Marrying you was my biggest mistake."

Dean only rolled back his shoulders coolly. "Well for what it's worth, I really liked having you as my wife. It was a good two years."

A good two years of having a woman waiting on him while he was fucking a bunch of women, Sam thought angrily. Of course he'd miss that. To say that she hated him was to put it lightly. She knew there was so much more she wanted to say to him but couldn't find it in herself to do so anymore. She was just sick and tired of him and wanted to move on.

Seeing him still standing there staring at her, Sam realized he wasn't about to leave until she told him they were done here.

"You've signed the papers, the marriage is over. Now kindly get out my sight," she said, turning to no longer face him only to stop for a moment and locate her rings that were in her pocket, both her wedding ring and the ring he'd proposed to her with that she'd been carrying around with her just waiting for the chance to give them back to him.

"Oh and take these with you on your way out," she said, walking over to him and calmly stuffing them into his hand.

Holding the rings in his palm Dean looked at them and then Sam for a moment longer before shaking his head in a frustrated way and leaving quietly without saying another word to her.

When she heard the door close shut Sam stood still, perfectly still for a long moment before slowly looking down at the papers in her hand and Dean's signature that was finally on the dotted line.

So this was it. It was done. It was all over. The annulment papers were signed.

Her marriage was finished.

Sam drew in a shaky breath as she just stood there staring at the neatly typed court document unblinkingly. And it wasn't until she noticed a droplet of water land onto the papers messily and she looked for its source that she realized that tears were running down her face and she was crying.

* * *

Finally having dealt with the agent that had needed his aid, Scam was walking back to Jerry's office and had almost reached it when he found himself looking at the ring on his finger.

Again.

He kept staring at it. For one moment, then another, then another. Before he slowly took if off his finger.

Holding it in between the thumb and index finger of his right hand, he looked at it for a moment longer as he remained deep in thought. And he asked himself the same question over and over again, the same he had been asking himself when he had been standing under Sam's shocked gaze which had been glued to this very ring.

Did he really want to do this? Did he _really _want this?

….

Having finally made up his mind a moment later, Scam smiled a small smile before moving to put the ring into his pocket before going back into Jerry's office where he knew a certain redhead would be waiting.

He stretched out his hand, it feeling odd without the ring that had been on it for two long years as he turned the corner only to stop dead when he noticed Dean Emerson from the corner of his eye.

And it looked like he was leaving Jerry's office. The office where he knew Sam was. Which could only mean that…

"…_She met with him,__" _he thought, his eyes narrowing in wonder. Why would Sam be seeing his face after everything he'd put her though. Or was it not over between them? No he knew that it was. But why then would she-

Closing his eyes, Scam took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. Maybe now wasn't the time to be doing this. Especially when he wasn't really sure of anything but his own self and what he wanted. And that was probably only because he'd never once had a doubt. But…

Reaching into his pocket he found the ring he'd just placed there and put it back on his finger where it slid back into its rightful place.

And he knew he had to do this. He _had _to. Once and for all…. he needed to know.

Putting a blank look on his face Scam finally re-entered Jerry's office only to have his face fall the moment he saw Sam hurriedly wiping away her tears once she'd noticed that she was no longer alone. "You're back," she breathed out, struggling to look like she hadn't been crying just now but he could hear how broken her voice was.

And when he saw the papers she was clutching he knew why she was in this state.

Realizing he was looking at the annulment papers, Sam tossed them behind her onto Jerry's desk in a sad attempt to hide them before facing him again.

"I guess you should give me that tour you were going to now," she said desperately trying to change the subject.

But Scam didn't say anything. He just stood there staring at her quietly until Sam could feel exactly what he was doing. He was reading her. And she knew right then that she couldn't hide from him, that he knew that she had been crying and exactly why as well.

"I'm sorry…" she heard him say a moment later, his voice quiet and filled with compassion, with understanding…with care.

And she felt her tears burst from her eyes again, falling down her face like unstoppable waterfalls.

Then before she knew what she was doing, she had thrown herself into his arms and was crying her eyes out with her face pressed into his chest as she soaked his shirt with her tears and clutched onto his torso for dear life.

* * *

… Well that was an emotionally charged chapter. I'll just leave it at that haha.

I actually dropped A LOT of hints in this chapter (more so than I planned to) so I'm curious to see if any of you guys caught those or not. :D I'm also wondering how you guys think this story is going to go and if you have any theories. xD

_**Please review **_if you read this! You'd make my day as I worked REALLY hard to get this up for you today. I actually wrote this chapter in **one sitting**. Which I almost never do anymore.

***waits to see your reactions***

Bye for now!

Loveeeeee,

Cresenta's lark

_PS: MORE UPDATES/STORIES ARE COMING! I meant what I said when I said I__'__d be writing a lot more than I have in the last few years! :D _


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